expert panel

To find the right match, you’ll need to look beyond their technical skills. When it comes to finding the right business partner, not just anyone will do. However, they also may not be the type of person you think you need at first. While many entrepreneurs will assume they need to find someone with superior technical skills like marketing or sales to help drive their business forward, it may be the nontechnical skills that make all the difference. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council leaders share 15 nontechnical skills you may not realize you should be looking for in a business partner, and why having these qualities at your side could make for the perfect match.

expert panel

The most valuable information at your disposal is what your customers think of you. No matter what type of business you run, your customers always have an opinion. From being completely happy with your service to thinking your product needs a total overhaul (and every opinion in between), your customers’ opinions can be as diverse as they are. It’s the companies that know how to harness this feedback to inform their decisions that are able to please their customers the most. The first step, however, is to collect that customer feedback. Below, 11 members of Rolling Stone Culture Council suggest a few ways of doing that and what you should be doing with the feedback once you have it.

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The culture space is nuanced and unique and entering it doesn't always turn out exactly how you think. It’s easy to come into any business with preconceived ideas about that particular industry; however, many industries in the culture space are complex and ever-changing. Once you start to build a company, you’ll likely learn there’s much more to each industry than meets the eye.  Realizing you had misconceptions about your industry may lead you to rethink certain strategies and decisions about your business. Fortunately, it's rarely too late to change course based on the knowledge you learn from experience. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members shared some myths and misconceptions they had about their specific industries when they started out, and how those assumptions were later proven false.

expert panel

Stories, Reels and TikToks can be great ways to connect with your audience and highlight your brand. In today’s highly digital world, individuals are constantly bombarded with distractions like texts, social media notifications and more. As a result, when consuming content online, most people prefer short-form videos on platforms like Instagram and TikTok that deliver quick, visually engaging messaging. If you've never explored short video content as a marketing strategy, there are a few important things to remember when developing your posts. Below, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members shared tips for leaders looking to use short videos to make their businesses stand out. Here’s why these tactics are so useful and how you can leverage them for your brand.

expert panel

When your usual outlets aren't available to you, it's important to find alternate coping mechanisms. It’s no question that the last year has been challenging for everyone. Even with the hope of "normalcy" on the horizon, people are finding it difficult to cope with the ongoing pandemic on top of the challenging social and political climate. With many outlets and resources inaccessible at this time, it’s even harder to find ways to de-stress. To help, a panel of Rolling Stone Culture Council members shared activities and methods that can aid in coping with burnout during multiple crises. Follow their advice to find healthy ways to deal with the stress of the modern world.